"Don't worry, I have a plan." - Gen. George Custer, Little Big Horn, 1876

SHIP'S LOG:

I arose this morning and decided to "test out" the new holding tank sanitation system. Thankfully, my guardian angel suggested that I try and "unloaded" flush. Pump, Pump. Pump. Pump. And nothing went into the holding tank. Thank goodness for the test. Nothing could be worse than a full bowl and no way to empty it. This particular problem was something that I had to fix before departing. I had to have a working head and a holding tank system or a run in with the Coast Guard or local marine police could be a very expensive encounter. The bowl would empty overboard but seemingly not empty into the holding tank. The scary thing was trying to figure out where it was going if it was not going into the tank!

After fiddling and fussing for about an hour, I placed a call to the DIESEL Brothers. They know everything about things mechanical and something as simple as a sanitation system on a boat would be a piece of cake so to speak. Luckily they were down at TYC, or rather at Fort Trumbull Coast Guard Station for a stability test - not for the Diesel Brothers but for the Club Launch. After the test they stopped by and it took them all of 1minute to determine the problem and less time to fix it. The "problem" was simply that there was not enough water in the system to fill the hose and move the "product" along the hose to the tank. One there was water through the system, it work just fine. I can personally attest to it!

The whole hooha with the holding tank took most of the morning and it really messed up the day's plans. Once the sanitation system, I had to secure the tank in place. You really don't want a 13 gallon tank filled with . .. er . ."waste" slide around the boat. The chances of an "accident" would be great and the consequences would be too terrible to contemplate. I hit WEST Marine for the items I needed for the tank, as well as a few last minute items and went back to the boat. The whole project took the rest of the afternoon and left no time for grocery shopping. And that means no departure today.

An it turns out that this might be a very good thing. The weather for the next couple of days looks nasty. Rain, and a lot of it. Wind and a lot of that. And nasty seas - any of those aren't good. So the new "plan" is to go grocery shopping tomorrow and then take the boat out to the mooring and wait for the weather to clear. It will not quite be the same as going down the coast but it will give me the time to get into the rhythm of living on the boat. There will be plenty to do, simply storing all the itmes that still litter the salon plus the food stiuffs, will eat up lots of time. As will logging where all the stuff is so that i can find it when I need it. According to the weather reports, it now looks like Sunday or Monday will be departure day but I'll let it happen when God decides it should happen.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

I was really disappointed that I didn't get to go today, but I guess that God didn't want me out in the coming weather. Once I decided not to go, I got very peaceful. It allowed me to go do the shopping for the items I need for the projects and to work through the things that need to be done. There was no rush, not anxiety, and everything got done. I have found that making a decision can bring a lot of peace. It settles the mind. It is the indecision that seems to cause all the anxiety and worry. You can't really do any more than what you can do. Still, I am looking foward to getting off the dock . . . . . and get going.